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Jason Bordoff and Richard Nephew examine what reimposing sanctions on Iran would mean for oil markets. They assess the likelihood that sanctions reimposition would pull large volumes of Iranian oil off the market and what impact that would have on oil markets and how the possibility of reimposition affects Iran’s negotiating posture within OPEC.

Richard Nephew explores what would happen should President-elect Trump attempt to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal in a new commentary. Nephew outlines and addresses three key questions that face the next Administration: Can the future president get more from Iran as part of a negotiated arrangement?; How much more does he need to get to declare success?; What will he risk in order to get it?

Richard Nephew questions what will happen to the Iran nuclear deal under a Donald Trump Administration. He indicates that, based on Trump’s rhetoric throughout the campaign season and the realities of what’s needed to maintain the deal, the JCPOA has a high chance of failing.

Richard Nephew argues that far from only imposing sanctions or sanctions-like authorities when U.S. interests are directly impinged, sanctions are increasingly being used as a substitute for more effective action, to avoid taking more risky (but probably necessary) action, and to address domestic political needs in the United States. He uses the example of bill H.R. 5461, or the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act as one example of when the United States should choose not to act (i.e. not pass the bill).

Matt Robinson and Richard Nephew argue that the most strategic choice for Washington lawmakers to address the crisis in Venezuela was not to act, but instead to permit the situation in Venezuela tounravel on its own. In this, the United States has demonstrated a considered approach to statecraft by avoiding the temptation to involve itself in the situation in Caracas.

Writing in The Hill, Richard Nephew explains the history and reality of the so-called “ransom payment” made to Iran by the United States in January 2016 of $400 million, which is now the subject of such controversy.

Richard Nephew reports on six months' implementation of the nuclear deal, particularly with respect to sanctions relief. He concludes that sanctions relief has been stalled as much by concerns over residual sanctions as domestic regulatory factors and low oil prices globally.

Richard Nephew and Liz Rosenberg argue that blaming sanctions for the failure of a windfall for Iran to materialize — as critics and supporters alike are saying — misplaces attribution and undermines prospects for the Iran deal’s success.